Refuse container lifters have been used for many years in a wide variety of settings. They have, for example, been mounted on refuse collection trucks, both rear and side load trucks. They have been mounted on larger multi-cubic yard refuse containers and they have been used in stationary refuse loading stations. An example of one successful refuse container lifter may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,658 to Zelinka and Redding. That patent is owned by the Perkins Manufacturing Company, which makes and sells a variety of lifters, including its well-known TuckAway lifter. Despite the wide variety of lifters being offered for sale, there continues to be need for lifters that have improved reliability and/or function; that are suitable for variety of applications on trucks, containers or stationary refuse collection stations; and/or that may be more efficiently manufactured at reduced cost.
Additionally, one of the drawbacks with many lifters relates to the way they are mounted on the collection truck, particularly rear-loading trucks. Such trucks, commonly have an upwardly sloping hopper that terminates in a rear hopper sill which lends rigidity and strength to the truck body.
When mounting lifters on such a truck, it is not uncommon to mount the lifter in a recess or cut-out in the sill or in a sill extension. The recessed location protects the lifter against damage when the truck is backed against a loading lock or other obstacles or when larger commercial loading containers are positioned against the back of the truck for dumping.
Cutting into the truck manufacturer's sill, however, may weaken the truck body and lessen its useful life. Employing a sill extension adds additional depth to the back of the truck which some consider undesirable because it increases the distance from the rear edge of the truck and the hopper floor.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lifter for lifting, tilting and dumping residential-style refuse containers that has improved reliability.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a refuse container lifter that is adapted for use in a variety of applications, such as on trucks, containers, or stationary refuse collection stations and also does not interfere with the use of lifters for other types of containers.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lifter for lifting, tilting and dumping residential-style refuse containers that can be mounted with fewer modifications and without the need to cut into the manufacturer's hopper sill or sill extension.
It is a further object to provide a lifter that may be mounted below the hopper and be movable to an extended position (for dumping a rollout container) without interfering with other apparatus, such as a tipper bar, which is used for dumping larger commercial containers.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a refuse lifter that can move or retract to a position where it will not substantially interfere with dumping larger commercial containers or positioning against a loading dock.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a refuse container lifter that may be efficiently and economically manufactured.